Virtudes Muñoz wants to stay in Nova Scotia, but says she’s stuck running in circles to complete the immigration process.
Muñoz, who is from the Dominican Republic, is an early childhood educator. She is currently trying to apply for the Nova Scotia Demand: Express Entry program, which allows qualified people in select fields to immigrate quickly, but has hit a snag.
“Since I have all the requirements to apply in the program I just needed a job offer to get a work permit,” she said.
“When I go to the interviews they say, ‘Yeah, okay, we’re going to hire you, you’re the correct person, when can you start?’ Then I say, well first I need a formal job offer to include it in my immigrant papers and I show them the program and they say … we need you to have your work permit first.”
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The specific program that Muñoz is trying to apply for requires she receive a full-time job offer. She has received several part-time offers but the full-time jobs ask her for a work permit and the labyrinthine process continues. She needs an offer to get her work permit and her permit to get an offer.
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Muñoz doesn’t blame the province or the employers, she believes the confusion is due to a breakdown in communication between employers and the office of immigration.
“I feel that the employers, they don’t have the information on how to hire a foreign worker,” she said.
“I think it’s not their fault. I feel [that it’s] lack of information.”
The office of immigration declined comment on camera but provided a lengthy statement via email, affirming the provinces commitment to welcoming increasing numbers of immigrants to the province.
“If an employer is interested in hiring someone, but is concerned about the process for obtaining a work permit, we can work closely with them to help them understand the process,” spokesperson Lynette Macleod wrote in an email.
Muñoz has been in Halifax since July and has spent time volunteering at the Atlantic International Film Festival and Halifax Pop Explosion, while also hunting for jobs.
She said that she has enough immigration points to immigrate to Saskatchewan outright but wants to settle with her family in Nova Scotia to be near the ocean, just as she is back home in Dominican.
For now Muñoz is left to wonder if she’ll be able to get at job that will allow her to stay in Nova Scotia before her visa expires in January.
“I have invested money in this process,” she said.
“I’m like ready, I just need a job offer as a teacher or kindergarten teacher.”
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